Medievalmaniac

I didn't - I did an independent study and taught myself the folklore and histories, but I don't have the languages yet - that's one of my main focuses when I hit grad school if I get UNC or Columbia; otherwise I'll have to do some intensive language study on my own, maybe with a tutor. It helps that I already have fluency in other languages, and have taught french at the AP level, so I have a good understanding of language acquisition....but it would be hard as Hades to do sengoidelc on my own! ACK. so, here's hoping. You can certainly acquire enough language proficiency to work on dissertation materials in the language you need as a graduate student - that's one reason medievalists have to have the Latin and another language. Your research idea sounds great! I adore Dante......

Ooooh, Nighthob, thank you for this! I've never heard of it before, but it sounds AWESOME. What a great resource!

Where did that even come from? I never said I was more qualified than Mrs. Bishop was to go to graduate school. I was using this example as proof that the GRE doesn't always indicate fitness for graduate study. It's a particularly tragic situation, and a horrible one, but I'm certainly not exploiting it for personal reasons. It was merely intended to point out that the GREs do not always "clearly indicate one's fitness for graduate work and academia" - which is your argument. She may be brilliant, but what she did indicates that she in no way shape or form was cut out for the rigors of academia - which extend beyond your raw intellectual ability to encompass collegiality, compassion, empathy, and the ability to withstand a lot of strife and stress without resorting to violence or becoming psychotic. In which case, obviously, the GRE did not do a very good job of ferreting her out. It's presumptuous of you to think I don't know anything about what goes into obtaining tenure, also. What makes you an expert in that subject? I have obtained tenure at two teaching positions so far...so clearly, I know something about how to keep my job. Finally, I apologized to you for upsetting you, and I hereby apologize again. But if you want to keep slinging incredibly offensive personal attacks at me (i.e. calling me "disgusting" and so forth), that's fine. There's a report button for posts like that. Alternately, feel free to PM me and call me whatever you like - I have a thick skin. I do think perhaps others don't want or need to be subjected to your nastiness above and beyond what you have already hurled forth in this public forum.

Seadub, Apologies for upsetting you.But please keep in mind that you are putting words into my mouth and I did NOT say she only got into Harvard because of her GRE scores. I did say she got funded because of them, and according to you that is the case in many instances. However, unlike some, I can certainly acknowledge when I am pushing the line and when I may be out of line, and I can certainly apologize that the fact that someone did what she did with the credentials she had makes me nervous about people who harp about the importance of GRE scores above all other considerations.

My research in terms of Arthuriana is primarily on Arthur as a symbol of British national identity and the changes and shifts of his representation as such and their implications from Geoffrey through Malory in England; I also look at how he is handled in the French tradition by way of comparison. Although this has been done, there's a lot of work left in this field; I'm applying psychological and philosophical principles to the subject matter, and my approach has netted me a book deal - so clearly, there's original work left to be done!!

Not so much as I intimated through my flippancy that I find my particular situation to be hilarious... Despite my dedication to my field and my clearly demonstrated ability and aptitude for what I want to do for the next forty years or so, I could be held out of a doctoral program because of a test that measures how well I do in a subject I never had any aptitude for or luck with despite EVERY effort to improve. My mind does NOT work Mathematically - never has. No amount of training is going to change that. I am, however, an expert researcher, an excellent writer and a pretty good linguist, all in all - a fact clearly and repeatedly demonstrated in my credentials. Which should be enough to get me into a program in which those are the required skills. Meanwhile, folks like Amy Bishop get full rides to Harvard because of their awesome GRE scores. Then, when they don't get tenure because they suck at teaching (something I am actually really good at, since I've been doing it for the past decade and have received glowing evaluations from both students and administrators) they just shoot the other scientists. And people wonder why hoi polloi think academia is a total mess....but, I digress. In the end, the GRE is going to count somehow, whether a lot or a little is anyone's guess. And we don't have a choice, we have to play the game. So, I'm playing the game to the best of my ability, but there's a reason some of us are not applying to Math or bioengineering programs. And I wasn't trying to be funny.... my situation is funny all by itself, so in terms of humor (however black), I don't have to do anything but write it down.

yes, yes, yes. I agree with you on all counts, and could have written your post, except that I wasn't in an MBA program. When I was in my early 20s, I thought I was amazing and totally prepared for anything. Now I look back and I think "Oh, my God! What WAS I? What WAS I doing?" I sure wouldn't have wanted me in a doctoral program then - although I had been accepted, I just wasn't "there" yet. Now, I feel like I am so much better a candidate for what I want to do, and although I definitely, DEFINITELY feel twinges of "why didn't I figure things out sooner" and "gee, I wish my family were more portable..." - in the end, I'm so glad to be who I am and where I am now as a candidate and also just as a person. Yes, there are "if only"s - but I think they're more a reaction to our culture's focus on youth than they are to my personal journey - it's been a great one, and I'm just getting warmed up.

Or, you could tailor your profile to demonstrate your passion for your subject. In my case, I am what I do, so everything is medieval-related, or academics-related...fat chance of an adcomm's getting in there and going "oh, she's not really serious about that medieval concentration"! lol Plus, since I'm friends with people from my job, I never post anything that can come across as particularly negative, because this is a small town and everybody will talk about everything you do or write. I keep it fairly benign - it's about my writing, my reading, baking, or baseball, these days.

lololol, Glasses: There's a glass of wine app for that...!

Captiv8ed....how did you KNOW??? You have spooky supernatural powers...or, you're spying on me......! lol I can almost tie my own shoe, though. You wait. In six more months, I bet I'll have it down! Math, on the other hand....highly unlikely. On the other hand, I can be flippant all I like...you have an acceptance, and I currently don't. It's possible I won't, when all is said and done, and if that is the case it likely will be because of that Q score. Which will suck, but I won't die from it (I think).

Hello, my name is Medievalmaniac, and I'm a medievalist.....lol At present, a lonely medievalist, having graduated from my Master's program last year and been living and working in a place where I am the token one who knows what the Tain is... I've listed all of my research interests elsewhere, but the quick answer is post-Conquest and Anglo-Norman England, focus on Arthuriana, national and individual identity, insular vs. Other communities represented in literature, violence/ victim's agency, and supernatural/monstrous/magical in folklore and romance. Obviously, as a woman, I also like doing the women (metaphorically!! In terms of scholarship!! lol) I hope to do cross-textual and cross-cultural work in Anglo-Norman, Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, Latin, and Celtic (Irish and Welsh) texts in Britain c. 11-14th centuries for the next forty years or so.

Shaky - as an Anglo-Saxonist, you could not do better than you have done for acceptances!! BRAVO to you! Is that Tenn-Knox, Tenn-Nash, or...? Never mind, doesn't matter, you got into FSU, and THAT means ELAINE TREHARNE! She's a genius, and a fabulously wonderful person. You are going to have a BLAST studying with her if you decide to go there!!!!

As others have said, this totally depends on your focus - Latin is pretty much a "you at least have to have a rudimentary ability" language, but after that it's really going to depend on what place and time you are working in. If you are working in western/ British Isles, you'll certainly want Old and Middle English, and maybe even Old Norse Icelandic, especially for early medieval. For British/Celtic, Old and Middle Irish and Welsh. If you are working post-Conquest, you'll want French, Old and Middle, as well as Middle English. If you are working in Spanish, you'll want Arabic; same for any eastern/Islamic focuses. If you are doing medieval far eastern literatures and cultures, you'll need corresponding history of those particular languages (medieval Chinese, etc. - I'm not sure what that would even entail, to be honest, never having studied Asian languages).

Hey! Geoffrey was a major element in my MA thesis. I discussed the collective unconscious and the crafting of national identity from one generation to the next post Conquest, focusing specifically on linguistic and socio-historical shifts in the texts of Geoffrey (Latin); Wace (Norman); Lazamon (Anglo-Saxon) and Malory (late Middle English). I LOVED my thesis, and am currently developing it with a publisher as a monograph. Glad to see someone else around who likes his "creative history"!

Yeah, I know, JL....you're right, the fact that I've already succeeded at the graduate level doesn't mean I can actually succeed at the graduate level (and BTW, remember, I only got a 3.65 in the first program, the 4.0 in the second).....I just figured what the hell, I can always just apply to a couple of programs and see. My Q score clearly precludes me from a life studying French and English - any idiot who's taken the GRE and done really well in Q can see that - but there's always that long shot, right? ;op On second thought, I should probably just get over myself. Either I'm not qualified and a fluke, or I'm not qualified and they let me in anyway....what the hell, let's just say it, my GREs suck, I'm not qualified. That's OK....I still get paid to read books and talk about them. Glad somebody made a mistake with me!

Seadub, What do you say in the case of someone in the humanities who went to a top-tier school as an undergrad, earned a 3.65 GPA in one mid level master's program, earned a 4.0 degree in a second, mid-level Master's program, has had 2 papers accepted to panels at international level conferences in his or her field, has published scholarly articles already, has developed/ written syllabi for and taught honors high school and lower college level classes already, and although s/he studied for six months and took a refresher course in Math, STILL only achieved an overall score of slightly less than 1100 because of a 23rd percentile score in Math on the GRE, although the GRE verbal is in the 90th and the writing was a perfect 6? Does the GRE clearly indicate that this applicant is incapable of hacking it in academia? Or that s/he should not be awarded funding because of that low quantitative score? I think the GRE is not as objective as we'd like it to be...which is why many programs don't really consider the scores. An equal number do consider the scores and several of these even require the further subject tests on top of that. In which case, the applicant has to decide what tests to take, how often to take them and what constitutes a good score, and needs to scale school choices accordingly. It's just a measurement tool (an expensive and time-consuming and resources-requiring one), one among many. But I do agree with other people that the statement of purpose and writing samples may count more than you think they do in comparison to the GRE. Or maybe in certain subjects over others, anyway.

Yes, "English" is as bad as "History", "Science" or "Math" at this level! lol Usually (not always) you have a central focus - a time period that you really want to work in, OR y a specific set of criteria you are looking at comparatively/ cross-eras, or a specific genre, author, or something along those lines that you want to specialize in, or some combination thereof, as well as one or two subfields. And a lit focus is different from rhetoric/composition, or writing/creative writing, or linguistics, all of which are fields in "English". For my part, I'm a medievalist, and my central focus is Post-Conquest England (+/-11th-14th c.) and concepts of identity, both individual and collective/national as well as insular versus Other. Within that, my primary focus is on Arthuriana and folklore. But I also subspecialize in Middle English and Old English, focusing on epic, saga and romance - which extends my range as a medievalist from 3 centuries to about 6. Then, through Arthurian studies, I am also a student of medievalism, which is the appropriation of medieval subjects and ideas in other eras, most notably the 19th and 20th centuries. The themes I work in most often are supernatural/magic/monsters, violence and victim's agency, women's agency, the agency of minority groups (Celts, in particular), chivalry/courtliness, loyalty and treachery - the sorts of themes you find often in Arthurian texts. In the end, although it sounds complicated, it all boils back down to the concepts of identity and agency in post-Conquest medieval texts. I know other medievalists who don't do anything like what I do. A friend of mine specializes in historical chronicles of the 13-15th centuries. Another does only hagiographic/Church related materials. Another works in philosophical treatises and literature (Boethius, Neoplatonism, etc.) Another works in feminism in medieval writings. Then there are all of the other medieval traditions (French, Spanish/Iberian, Italian, etc.) which usually fall under comp. lit. but are also found in some English/Modern Languages departments for regular English students to diversify their training. So, short answer, even when you narrow it down to a time period, there is a vast array of specializations. So, I think English departments might well have the most applicants, because they encompass the literature and writing from ancient times through the 20th century in every culture that has a written tradition.....that's a LOT of specialties, subspecialties, and scholarship for an AdComm to plough through!!

Again, reminding those of you taking issue with my above-written generalization that I know I was generalizing...and that I know I'm rambling. But I also know that I have seen some of what I have talked about first hand all too often to not see that it is very real and very much a problem for those of us with extremely clear objectives and needs in terms of goals and preparation to meet them. It's not omnipresent, by any means - as I pointed out - but it IS there. In this very forum, we see people saying "well, yes, I got into X, Y and Z, but I really wanted S, and they didn't take me...so I don't think I'm going to take any of the offers I got, I'll wait and see what happens next year." Where's the sense in that? If you would not accept an offer from a program, don't apply. That requires maturity on an applicant's part - but if you have your heart set on one of three schools, and you know that, then don't waste your time and money - and the time and money of others, I might add - applying to programs you have no intention of actually going to if it comes down to it. There are a lot of people doing just that. Not to pull an age card - because I am hoping my age doesn't become a factor in my own applications, and assuredly there are younger applicants far more qualified than I am for positions I have applied for. But my age - and my experiences as a teacher and a student for a decade - has also given me a lot to mull over on this subject. I'm not just sour graping, because I have no reason to sour grape - I am very, very lucky to be doing what I am doing, and will still be so even if I get rejected from all of my choices. I'm not trying to be snarky or cynical....just being realistic, and basing my realism on the posts of people right here on this board. That said, I hope everyone here gets into a school of his or her dreams and that everyone here gets that PhD and moves on to a great career in academia....I really do.

In the results section, it is clear that SUNY sent out a full round of notices...that's not to say they are done, but there are several posts there. It's probably just one of a number of rounds, though - they do have a lot to sift through!!! So - keep those hopes up!!!

gad - I also worked my butt off to get through undergrad. Insult to injury? I transferred from a lesser school as a sophomore with a 3.7 GPA, as a lit major. Then I had to take extra science and Math classes, AND they didn't accept my transfer GPA. Then, I wanted to take so many classes I didn't have room for in my schedule b/c of their general ed requirements (which the general ed classes I had taken at the other school did not fulfill, for WHATever reason) that I petitioned for a schedule override for extra seat hours every term, taking 6 classes every term except my student teaching semester. Also, I was working over 40 hours a week and commuting 30 minutes. I'm amazed I graduated at all...but, I had a 4.0 my student teaching semester, and graduated with 176 credits as an undergrad. So, in retrospect, my 2.66 undergrad GPA isn't so bad after all. I finished my MA last spring with a 4.0, incidentally...now, waiting on PhD programs to weigh in. Trying to keep from stressing too hard. But I wanted you to know that I also worked my tail off as an undergrad, ended up with a less-than-stellar GPA as a result, and did manage to continue on in graduate school - it can be done!! I am proof positive that they do look at everything, not JUST GPA. You want the funny bit? I attended one Master's program for a year, and they did not bat an eye at my 2.66 undergrad GPA. I had to quit before I finished that degree, but ended up with a respectable 3.56 despite a lot of family issues at the time. Then when I applied to another program, they made me take two courses before admitting me because my undergraduate GPA was too low. They would not even consider the newer, and therefore more indicative of my abilities, graduate-level GPA. Nor did they consider the fact that I was overriding every term and had a higher GPA if you factored in my transfer numbers. So, long story short, it really depends on the program you are applying to.

YES. I could have written this post myself. Every word, true, true, true. You know what makes me really angry, though? It's the fact that my first choice is many folks' safety. If you don't WANT to go to a program, don't apply. When I see someone with 8+ applications, I don't think "there's a person who knows what s/he wants in life" I think "that assh-le is probably going to take my spot and s/he clearly doesn't even want it." Nine times out of ten (OK, eight ;op), that person him or herself will tell you s/he "only applied there as a backup". That's really discouraging. I wish everyone had the foresight to apply only to the schools s/he really wants to GO to, instead of just randomly applying to 8-10 of the top 25 English departments. I know that's generalizing - there are a lot of people here who have clearly done their homework and have very specific reasons for their choices. But there are an equal number of folks with "I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up" etched all over their lists - you know? I'm not trying to be hypercritical, but I do want to point out that for some of us, UNC-Chapel Hill is the best possible option (especially when we are medievalists/Celticists/ Arthurians and they have next-to-God-on-the-Celtic-scale Pat O'Neill and the soon-to-be-emeritus-but-he-could-still-work-with-you-on-your-dissertation-if-you-asked-him-nicely-Don Kennedy (a deity among medievalists).....and for others, it's just a top-25 school they applied to as a safety. So - if ten folks applied for one slot, and six of them didn't REALLY want it, and the one that gets it drops or transfers midway through....who won? Now, multiply that by the obscene number of people competing for spots at the top 50 or so institutions...wow. I'm surprised any of us is even still functional against those odds! I'm rambling. I'm sorry. I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer, I just hate hearing so many stories about people who can't get a break, when they know so clearly what they are and what they want, and I know so many others who maybe shouldn't be applying at all yet, and will more than likely drop out or become ABDs. (for the record - I know an equal number of applicants who are wonderful scholars and who I hope get full funding and know will do brilliantly...I'm in no way implying this is even more than a minority....but it is a reality, however small the number of people doing it. And they do hurt everyone's chances all the more, in some cases). In the meanwhile, for myself, I am dying to do more advanced research, to study Old Irish, Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Saxon, and to write my articles and book(s). I'll certainly do this with or without a program...but with would be easier. I teach at a private boarding school and I get to create my curriculum from scratch, teach whatever I want, the way I want...unlimited (within reason) resources - you can bet I'm not applying to PhD programs because I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, or that I'm not really sure but I THINK this is what I want - because if I am accepted, I will be leaving an extremely cushy job, excellent benefits, and a VERY nice salary...but I'll be going towards my lifelong passions with more guidance and more criticism of what I am doing, which will make me a better scholar, writer and reader, and that is what I want. One way or the other, I will be a medievalist for the rest of my life. I would love to do it in a PhD program with other medievalists as mentors and colleagues...but I have done it for ten years more or less without that and gotten along just fine, if in lonely fashion for the most part.

Tarski - you're right, it's always a good idea to practice healthy skepticism. )

If I had not spoken personally with one of the departments in question and been informed that no decisions had been made, I wouldn't be quite so distrustful, I think. I can buy the idea that someone has received an unofficial acceptance or two, i.e. word of mouth - although, I wonder at the professor who would put him or herself in that position - if no formal decision has been made, then there's the possibility of major egg on one's face in that instance. I don't think it is widespread practice, but it just caught my eye (I like research....! lol) I'm not trying to cause trouble, I just really wonder why someone would post anything without a firm admit in hand. I laughed aloud at the suggestion that it might be a payback action! ;op But definitely, I'm feeling the stress alongside everyone else and want to be supportive and supported here!!

I have only been here for a day, but I have noticed at least two clear cases of people who have stated they have been accepted at schools and specific programs within schools that a number of others have down as well. No one but these folks has heard from these schools/ programs one way or the other, according to the results board and/or signature counts. In other words, it seems pretty clear that these folks have put down that they are accepted, but could not yet know this...even if they were chosen early admit with fellowship/funding, SOMEONE else would have heard from these programs by now. I know for a fact at least one of the schools is not telling anyone anything until the first week of March, at the earliest, because I called and I also know several current doctoral students there who have talked to the professors about it and been told no decisions have been made yet - they're waiting on funding information for the department because of state budget cuts. So, my question is - what does it get you to lie about something like that? Is it just mind games? Delusion? Wishful thinking? All of the above? Somebody smarter than me...please, enlighten me. ) (I'm not giving names of schools/programs because...well, I'm new, and I don't want to be snarky and out someone who is doing this. If you want to know, just lurk a bit and I'm sure you can figure it out)

OK...here goes, because I'm driving myself nuts thinking I must have been rejected across the board....but why would they? I.... have my MA ready in hand, with a 4.0, in my specific field of study have completed 23 hours on a second MA in my subfield have one full article, 8 encyclopedic entries, and 10 forthcoming encyclopedic entries in print, on top of numerous nonfiction works have a decade of teaching experience at the high school/advanced and honors level, with two undergrad college classes TA'd as a senior myself at William and Mary am under contract to develop my thesis into a monograph with a known scholarly publishing house delivered my thesis findings at the international medieval congress, and have presented papers at the Southeastern Medieval Association conference, the Vagantes Medieval Academy of America graduate student conference, the Regional Medievalisms conference, the UVA-Wise Medieval Studies Conference, and the Virginia Association for Teachers of English conference received a high score on the verbal and a perfect score on the writing portion of the GRE am the managing editor for an online graduate studies journal have students who received perfect scores on the AP Exam in three different subjects under my teaching (French, Art History, English) speak French fluently, and have extensive language skills in Spanish, Latin, German, and Old English have three further articles in circulation with national recognized publications if they want a dedicated and passionate medievalist-in-training, why would they look anywhere else......right???? :oO